Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 266,815 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 13,500 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $6,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 12,164,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $310,308,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,800 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Royalty Pharma by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,516,262 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,215,000 after acquiring an additional 29,451 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 6.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,265,786 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $205,562,000 after acquiring an additional 417,490 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Royalty Pharma by 44.7% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 3,033,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $85,809,000 after acquiring an additional 936,900 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Royalty Pharma by 58.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,001,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $84,915,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103,341 shares during the last quarter. 54.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RPRX. StockNews.com raised Royalty Pharma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised shares of Royalty Pharma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

Royalty Pharma Trading Down 0.9 %

RPRX opened at $33.38 on Thursday. Royalty Pharma plc has a 52 week low of $24.05 and a 52 week high of $34.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.09. The firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.49.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.16. Royalty Pharma had a return on equity of 24.40% and a net margin of 37.94%. On average, equities analysts expect that Royalty Pharma plc will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Royalty Pharma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Royalty Pharma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. Royalty Pharma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.69%.

Royalty Pharma Profile

Royalty Pharma plc operates as a buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties and a funder of innovations in the biopharmaceutical industry in the United States. It is also involved in the identification, evaluation, and acquisition of royalties on various biopharmaceutical therapies. In addition, the company collaborates with innovators from academic institutions, research hospitals and not-for-profits, small and mid-cap biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies.